


Balancing Dynamics

by Dessarious



Series: Daminette Soulmate Song AU [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Crossover, F/F, F/M, MariBat, non Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:08:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27677180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dessarious/pseuds/Dessarious
Summary: With Hawkmoth behind bars and the rest of her classmates trials over with Marinette and Damian are finally getting to opportunity to slow down and learn about each other and themselves. Gen is training them both to be Guardians while Marinette trains her holders. Other than the stress of starting at a new school things finally seem to be looking up for all of them.None of them can sense the darkness heading their way. If Marinette and Damian don't find their true balance before it arrives, there's no telling how severe the consequences will be.
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne
Series: Daminette Soulmate Song AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2023892
Comments: 21
Kudos: 217





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Alright everyone, here’s the beginning of the long awaited Broken Harmony Sequel. Given that most of Broken Harmony was from Damian’s perspective the plan right now is for this to be mostly in Marinette’s. Granted everything is subject to change since I have no idea what I’m doing until I actually write it. But this prologue is sort of a mirror to the one for Broken Harmony so that you get an idea of Mari’s mindset and experiences prior to meeting Damian.

Marinette was six and a half the first time she felt the resonance. They were visiting some of her mother’s family in China and had been there close to a week when it started. When she’d excitedly told her parents what she felt they looked worried and she didn’t understand why. They told her to wait and let her soulmate come to her but they wouldn’t tell her why. But she did as they asked.

She was disappointed when she felt them leave and wondered if they had been waiting for her to look for them instead. Her parents consoled her, told her that they would meet when the time was right. She could feel their relief though and that just confused her. When she asked them why they didn’t want her to meet her soulmate they were surprised. They told her she’d understand when she got older.

Years went by and she still didn’t understand. The resonance never came back and she tried so hard to not be upset by it. She didn’t talk about her soulmate with anyone, not even her friends. Partly because they didn’t have soulmates of their own but mostly it was the way her parents reacted when she’d tried to describe their song. They’d been upset but wouldn’t tell her why. After that it just seemed safer not to talk about it. That was when she started the journals.

She wrote down how their song sounded and how it made her feel. She wrote letters to them so when they finally met they’d know they were cared for. Their song made her think most people around them didn’t. She spent a lot of time concentrating on the bond, both what she felt from it and, she hoped, making her own song comforting for them. It was why she was so clumsy most of the time because she was paying far more attention to the bond than the world around her.

On her eleventh birthday their song changed. It was wrong, muted. It was far more calm and peaceful than it had ever been which should have been a relief. It wasn’t. Her soulmate's agitation had been a constant her entire life. For it to just be gone all of a sudden… she didn’t like it. She didn’t like it at all. Her parents could tell something was wrong but she wouldn’t talk to them about it. It felt too personal and given the way they always tiptoed around the subject, she didn’t want to give them one more thing to worry about.

Instead she spent even more time concentrating on what she could feel in the bond. She noted down any little change and realized that their song seemed to be reacting to her emotions. Her song seemed to be their only focus. So she did everything she could to stay positive and happy. It seemed to soothe their song.

Almost a year later the wrongness went away. It was replaced with pain and rage so strong she ended up missing school for a week. She did everything she could to keep herself calm but she couldn’t help how worried she was about them. It got better slowly. Within a month it was a far more controlled feeling, like a military march. Every once in a while it would flare into an inferno again, but those were rare.

Master Fu helped her once she broke down in the middle of a training session because of it. He helped her meditate and use that to separate her soulmate’s song from her physical reactions. It wasn’t easy but she was able to make them their own space in her mind where she could still feel them, but not get overwhelmed by it. It helped her stay calm which seemed to help them as well.

When Hawkmoth showed up she was able to compartmentalize well enough to stay off his radar. She was worried about her partner though and told Master Fu as much. He seemed to think her fears were groundless. She offered to teach Chat meditation techniques once but he kept insisting it was a date so she asked Master Fun to go in her place. After that was the first time he sat out a fight to punish her. 

Then Lila came. She tried to keep herself together but she couldn’t just do nothing when her friends were being lied to. When the Akuma came for her the first time she thought she just had too many stress points so when Adrien said she should just let Lila be, it seemed the best option. She couldn’t stop her stress from being Ladybug and Master Fu still refused to do anything about Chat. She needed something in her life to change and worrying about Lila seemed the best thing to drop. She didn’t realize how wrong she was until it was too late.

After that everything just got worse. When she had to cancel plans last minute, like she had always done, it was suddenly a slight to Lila. When she had prior commitments and couldn’t go somewhere with the group it was because Lila would be there. They decided that all her decisions revolved around the other girl and Mari couldn’t persuade them otherwise.

She tried so hard to be more available but then Lila would decide not to show up. She did it every time Marinette actually made it to something. After about a month Lila told everyone that Marinette had threatened her to stay away. That happened the day after Master Fu died. It was a Thursday evening and Lila used her absence Friday to make the accusation. When Marinette went back to school on Monday she was only just holding it together. As soon as she entered the gate she was met with hate and anger. She swore she could feel herself shatter. 

After that her control all but evaporated. Her soulmate’s rage came back with a vengeance and she couldn’t keep it separate anymore. Chat didn’t know the Guardian had died but for some reason he started becoming more aggressive about them dating. It was all too much. She spent close to a month wielding both the Ladybug and Turtle Miraculous so she could find a private spot to break down while Wayzz shielded her and Tikki took care of the Akumas. She felt so useless.

She became completely withdrawn from everyone around her. Both in an effort to protect herself and because no one seemed to want anything to do with her. She spent all her time trying to keep her emotions contained to not be a target for Hawkmoth. The best she managed was to only have one Akuma a week come for her. She couldn’t get herself together enough to hide her emotions from her soulmate at all. Their song was more agitated and enraged than she’d ever felt before and she couldn’t help. That more than anything was eating away at her. She was making them worse and she couldn’t help it. 

The morning she felt the resonance again she panicked. Being this close she felt like her entire body was on fire with their anger. She couldn’t concentrate at all. If she’d been able to pay attention to the atmosphere around her, maybe she would have seen what was coming. She was trying to leave when Alya confronted her. She was so focused on getting out of there before her soulmate found her that she didn’t see the slap coming. She hit the ground and heard their anger explode in her head. All she could do was curl up as it overwhelmed her. She didn’t even feel it when her class started kicking her. 

It was only when she heard notes of concern in the rage that she started to become aware of the world around her again. When she heard Adrien tell her to get up and felt her soulmate’s anger spike again, she grabbed onto them on instinct. Suddenly the song in her head was matched with her own. They were so different but somehow they meshed into one cohesive tune. She could suddenly hear which emotions were directed at her and which were directed elsewhere. When she didn’t feel any anger towards herself it caused a wave of relief. Suddenly she wasn’t alone. It was in that moment that she knew everything was finally going to be okay, even if she had no idea how.


	2. Chapter 2

Marinette woke to the feeling of Damian curled around her from behind. No one seemed to understand their need for physical contact but even her parents seemed to understand the necessity. They’d tried at first to stay apart but the strain was obvious. Damian had started to revert to his ‘feral’ personality, as his family called it. Marinette couldn’t sleep until they were together or she dropped from exhaustion. After two weeks of her collapsing as soon as she was with Damian no one was willing to force the issue. It was a good thing too because she was fairly certain Damian would have disemboweled anyone who tried at that point.

“You can’t fall back asleep. We have to get moving soon if you want to brief the others before the meeting with the Justice League.” Marinette could only groan at the reminder.

“Why did we agree to this again?” She felt him laugh. It was another quirk she’d noticed that he rarely laughed out loud. She had a feeling it was a leftover trait from his early childhood.

“Because if you wish for the Miraculous to remain active, not to mention look for others that have been lost, chances are you will run into some of them. It’s best that they’re familiar with you so I don’t have to kill them for trying to attack you.” She couldn’t help but roll her eyes at that.

“I still don’t see why your father couldn’t just explain the situation and tell them he’s monitoring me.” Given that she wasn’t planning on leaving Paris unless she had actual proof of another Miraculous for the time being it seemed completely unnecessary. Damian let out an annoyed breath and his song held spikes of anger.

“He tried that but Superman and Wonder Woman insisted on a face to face meeting. Superman doesn’t think anyone can be trusted without him personally in the loop, but I have no idea why Wonder Woman is so concerned about it.” She started rubbing circles on his forearm to help calm him down. He was more upset about the meeting than she was. She wasn’t sure if that should worry her or not.

“Diana’s mother was one of my former holders. She probably just wants to meet you.” Tikki’s voice came from somewhere near her desk and Marinette finally opened her eyes to peer at the Kwami. She got distracted by the clock that showed it was already past noon.

“Damian! Why did you let me sleep so late? We’ve only got a few hours before the meeting.” She turned to face him and he let out a sound of protest.

“I was comfortable and how long does it actually take to tell Chloe and Kagami to not say anything?” She just glared at him. He proceeded to yawn at her.

“You’ve been around Chloe enough to know exactly how long that will take. Of course I’m not sure if I’m more worried about her or you overreacting if they get aggressive with me.” She couldn’t stop her giggle at his scowl.

“If any of them look at you wrong I’ll put them through a wall.” The protectiveness in his song had the effect of a warm blanket. If she weren’t so worried about the meeting she probably would have fallen back asleep.

“You are okay with everything, right?” He just gave her a confused frown. “Going as Kabus and not letting them know who you really are. I don’t want to force you to lie to them.”

“It’s not lying. I am Kabus and I have no wish for any of them to connect that to me, and through me, you. Telling them I can’t reveal my identity is the truth and what’s best for us.” She listened for any uncertainty or discontent and was relieved when she couldn’t find any. She felt guilty that he’d basically given up his entire life to stay with her. The last thing she wanted was to force him to keep secrets from friends.

“If you’re sure. I can go by myself if it makes you uncomfortable.” She could hear the lie in her own voice and song. There was no way she’d make it through that meeting with a bunch of heroes on her own. At least not without embarrassing herself.

“Under no circumstances would I let you go near those cretins without me.” He sounded offended at the thought and she laughed.

“I’m sure they’re not that bad.” She started fiddling with the front of his shirt. They really needed to get moving. Telling herself that did absolutely no good whatsoever.

“Everything’s going to be fine Angel. We just have to get through one meeting and then we’ll make sure they leave us alone.”

—————————————————————

They exited the portal and Ladybug took a deep breath. She had Kabus’s calming presence in her head and Red Wasp’s stoic presence behind her. Kagami had decided to stay behind. Gen… well she was even more keyed up than Ladybug felt.

“This is a really bad idea. It would be better for everyone if I weren’t here.” Gen’s eyes were darting everywhere. She didn’t sound worried so much as certain.

“Why?” They were interrupted by a scream of rage and Gen sighed.

“That’s why.” They turned to see Wonder Woman glaring at Gen. Without warning she flew at Gen who dodged at the last second, sending Wonder Woman through a wall. Gen’s expression turned into an amused grin. “Still too slow baby D. I know you can do better than that.”

Ladybug shared a confused look with Kabus but he just shielded her and waited to see how things played out.

“I will end you! How dare you show up here when we’re meeting with real Miraculous holders.” Gen rolled her eyes.

“Who do you think invited me small fry?” Ladybug could only blink at the nickname. Wonder Woman was taller and more heavily muscled than Gen. It seemed to enrage the hero further though. Nixx appeared and began to stretch, moving to settle along Gen’s arms and shoulders. This time when Wonder Woman came at her she dodged again but only to grab one of her arms. Faster than it seemed possible she had the hero pinned to the wall.

“Let me go!” The women sounded insulted more than anything.

“Not until you calm down. I’m here at the request of the current Ladybug holder and all this conflict was not her intention. I don’t know what you’re hoping to accomplish anyway. You should know by now that it’s useless to come at me. It’s not like you can do any permanent damage.” Gen just sounded tired.

“How exactly do you two know each other?” Kabus’s question caused Gen to let out a frustrated breath.

“When the Guardian’s ran out of ideas to separate me from Nixx they tasked the Amazons with the job. Needless to say they failed and obviously this one’s still a bit sore over it.”


	3. Chapter 3

“You stole power you didn’t deserve. It’s our duty to keep you from abusing it.” Wonder woman sounded angry but Gen just looked confused.

“What do you mean stole?” Wonder Woman glared and her and Ladybug flinched causing the woman’s expression to soften.

“She bound herself to Nixx without the Guardian’s permission to use the power for her own purposes.” She shared a look with Kabus as Gen scoffed.

“Is that what they told you? First of all I predate the Order as you know it, second I was a nine year old slave being used as a science experiment when I was joined with Nixx. Please tell me how that was my fault or my choice.” When Wonder Woman opened her mouth to respond Gen kept going. “You just think about that. For now, are you going to calm down and stop upsetting Ladybug so we can get through this?” The hero frowned before looking at her and Ladybug could almost see her internal debate

“Fine, but we need to talk about this.” Gen rolled her eyes before releasing the woman.

“As long as it is actually talking. As creative as you lot were with my deaths I’d rather skip all that this time around.” Gen’s voice was dry and Wonder Woman was just frowning at her. “In the meantime I’d really like to get this over with so that Ladybug and the others can get back to their lives.” The hero turned to them with a contrite look.

“I apologize if I’ve upset you. Gen has been an enemy of the Amazons since I was a child, and the Order even longer. I was not expecting her presence.” Gen rolled her eyes at the statement.

“If Gen isn’t welcome then we’ll leave. While I sympathize with your predicament I won’t conduct this interview without a crucial member of my team.” Ladybug was glad that her tone came out authoritative rather than panicked. While Kabus knew the players here she really didn’t want him to have to use any of that information and risk outing himself. Gen had agreed to field any major opposition since she was the only adult. Wonder Woman just looked stunned at the declaration before nodding.

“That won’t be a problem. I’m the only one that knows her and I can overlook the past for now.” She didn’t like the sound of that but Gen nodded at her. Well if she was comfortable… she felt Kabus squeeze her hand and she could tell he was trying to reassure her with his song even though he was still agitated himself. They needed to get this over with.

“Lead the way then.” Wonder Woman shot another look at Gen before gesturing to a door. It was obvious she wasn’t happy with this arrangement. “I take it you were sent to escort us because you’re familiar with the Miraculous.” She rolled her eyes.

“I wasn’t sent, I came because you’ll need help getting the League to understand their lack of authority in this case. I’m honestly surprised Batman seems so willing to let you function autonomously and I wouldn’t bet on that lasting.” Ladybug could hear amusement and annoyance in Kabus’s song.

“Batman won’t be a problem.” Wonder Woman raised an eyebrow at his certainty and Gen let out an amused snort.

“Kabus is right. After seeing what happened in Paris I believe Batman understands the necessity of the Miraculous not being subject to League oversight. The key is going to be whether the two of you can convince the others. If not we have back up plans in place to become invisible.” It wasn’t her first choice. The Miraculous needed to be active to help restore balance in the world though, so she would do what was necessary. Wonder Woman was eyeing her with an expression she couldn’t read but Gen wore a proud smile.

“If it comes to that I’d still like to offer my aid if possible. My mother also wishes to extend an invitation. She’s very interested in meeting Tikki’s current holder, as well as the rest of your team.” She had no idea how to respond to that. Given her soulmate’s obvious shock it was probably an honor to be asked. She’d have to ask Tikki about it later.

“I appreciate the offer but I’ll have to discuss it with my team later.” Right now she just wanted to get through this meeting. Everything else could wait, especially if they did end up having to disappear to keep the Justice League from interfering. Luckily, they weren’t needed in Paris, at least they didn’t need to be visible to help restore balance. Granted, it was far easier when they didn’t have to hide their activities. Wonder Woman looked like she wanted to press the issue but they came to the end of the hallway.

“Ready?” Ladybug could only offer a jerky nod at Gen’s question. This was going to be a disaster. Kabus threaded his fingers through hers.

“Everything will be fine. If anyone even breathes in a way you don’t like I’ll make them regret it.” Gen coughed to cover a laugh and Red Wasp snickered behind them. Even Wonder Woman looked amused. She probably would have found it funnier herself if she couldn’t hear how serious he was in her head. Between the way they’d met and the final confrontation with Hawkmoth, her soulmate had no sense of humor where there was a perceived threat.

“While I appreciate the offer, the goal is to get them to leave us alone. Not to make them want to hunt us down. Short of someone outright attacking us, we need to keep a low profile.” He didn’t answer but she heard a grudging acceptance in his song. It was the best she could hope for. “Let’s go.”


	4. Chapter 4

As the doors slid open Ladybug could hear the panic in her song and could only hope it wasn’t outwardly apparent. The sight of so many heroes staring at her didn’t help at all. Kabus’ song in her head was calm, if still annoyed. Batman was glowering at the other heroes instead of her which was a nice gesture. What actually calmed her down was Nightwing. He was standing next to Batman making faces and giving her a thumbs up. Knowing that her soulmates family was supportive of this made a huge difference in her confidence level.

“They need to be sent off to train with the Titans. I mean look at them, they’re babies.” Green Lantern sounded like he was continuing an argument and a couple of the others nodded in agreement. Batman turned the full force of his glare on the man and Superman actually rolled his eyes.

“Babies who have been battle tested because of your incompetence. We don’t have the moral high ground or the authority to send them anywhere.” Everyone was looking at Superman like he’d lost his mind and she didn’t know why. Even her soulmate’s song was filled with shock.

“He’s right. Not to mention that the Miraculous have always been a mystery to the world. That kind of power should not be mixed with an organization like ours.” Aquaman’s words started a round of squabbling and Ladybug was beginning to wonder if it was actually necessary for them to be there. Red Wasp let out a piercing whistle behind her and Superman actually winced. They did all stop talking though.

“It’s incredibly rude to talk about people as though they aren’t in the room. You shouldn’t have asked us here if you weren’t ready to meet with us. It’s extremely unprofessional and I expected better from the Justice League.” Red Wasp’s reprimand actually brought out sheepish expressions on some of the heroes. Batman looked like he was fighting a smile while Superman couldn’t seem to decide if he should be insulted or not. She should probably step in before things got out of hand.

“While I do understand your perspective and empathize with your concerns, Aquaman is correct in his assertion that the Miraculous can not be controlled by your organization. It would create a power imbalance of a magnitude none of you are prepared for.” They were all staring at her as though she were some sort of aberration and she had no idea why. Kabus’ song in her head just sounded amused.

“We can’t just let them roam about with no adult supervision.” Green Lantern was still talking to the others instead of them. It was extremely irritating.

“That would be me.” Gen’s voice seemed to startle them. Ladybug got the impression that they hadn’t even noticed her until that point.

“I don’t see how that’s any better. You look like you’re barely out of your teens.” Wonder Woman was trying to signal him to shut up but he just ignored her. Gen just laughed.

“Son, trust me, you do not want to play the age card with me.” Now the majority of them were glaring at her. Gen didn’t look concerned at all. Superman seemed to be frowning at her but it looked more like he was looking through her. “Not to mention there are far more important criteria to consider even if it were your decision.”

“Which just means you know you’re not old enough and are trying to get around that fact. They at least need one of us to keep them in check.” Ladybug could hear Kabus getting more and more agitated in her head. It was taking all his self control not to explode at the hero. She squeezed his hand and tried to calm him. Gen just grinned at him.

“Okay fine, if that’s how you want to do this.” She pointed at Wonder Woman. “I’d better be considered old enough given that I predate her by at least two thousand years.” No one seemed to know how to react to that. Superman was still frowning at her in thought but it was the Flash that found his voice first.

“That isn’t possible.” Kabus let out a disgusted scoff and the man actually gave him a condescending look. Nightwing looked a bit panicked as the man continued speaking. “You should thank us given that she’s obviously lying to you. That kind of life span isn’t possible.”

“It is when your soul has been fused to a god.” Everyone was staring at her and Ladybug realized those words had come from her. Crap. For some reason she couldn’t fathom, words just kept coming out of her mouth. “Even if I didn’t trust Gen implicitly, which I do, her story has been confirmed by a number of beings who existed at that time, including the Kwami that is tied to her. We are here as a courtesy and I won’t have you insulting my team. If you have questions, ask them. Otherwise we should be on our way.”

She did her best to not freak out as the majority of the Justice League just stared at her in shock. Kabus’ song said he was about three seconds from bursting into laughter, Nightwing had to cover his laugh with a cough, and Aquaman actually gave her an approving nod. She had no idea what was going on, but most of the members devolved back into fighting with each other again. This was ridiculous. Batman and Superman broke away from the others to come over to them and Wonder Woman. Both had a rather pained look on their face.

“I must say I’m surprised you of all people are fine with leaving the Miraculous users to themselves.” Wonder Woman addressed Superman but he just shrugged at her.

“First, we have more than enough problems. Second, as I said they’ve already proven themselves and it’s not currently in our jurisdiction anyway. Given that they’ve agreed to keep Batman updated of their movements and there is no current threat I see no issue.” He sounded tired and more than a little annoyed as he turned to her. “I trust you won’t become another problem?”

“We have no intention of it.” She had to speak over Kabus’ growling and tried to keep herself between the two but Superman still glared at him. “You’ll have to forgive Kabus. We’re soulmates and I was very nearly killed when we defeated Hawkmoth. He’s understandably overprotective.” She ended up elbowing her soulmate in the stomach to get him to stop. Wonder Woman and Batman seemed to find it amusing and even Superman’s expression softened.


End file.
